Gabriel’s POV:
“You…are…really insane…” The bitter smirk curved wide on my lips as I exhaled a deep sigh.
I retained a small silence of a few minutes but before I could utter another word, he walked a few steps closer and asked me in a fervent manner, “So, tell me…what’s going on between you and Zordan? Are you both really getting engaged? What’s with this sudden decision? And…I have heard that crazy punk declared you as his fiancee on the day of your father’s funeral. Is that true?”
“Prince Marcus,” I slowly retreated a few steps back from him, fiddling my fingertips as his sudden interrogations were making me nervous. I wasn’t prepared to give him any concrete answer yet, that’s why I wanted to escape before things could get worse. “I don’t think we are that close enough anymore to ask about any personal matter.
Yes, it’s true that I am getting engaged to Crown Prince Zordan and that’s all I can say for now. If you are really back from your military training, I believe that you must be exhausted as well. So you should head back and rest.”
As soon as I spoke the words in quite a rush, I thought of hurriedly getting back inside the room to avoid any more interrogations. But as always, Marcus was swift enough to grab my hand from behind, forbidding me to escape real quickly.
“Wait for a second, Gabriel.” His tone sounded a bit perplexed this time as he stared at me with a cryptic dark gaze. I could see him getting skeptical about me avoiding him on purpose, yet he answered timidly, “Look, I am sorry. I know how hard it must have been for you as a single daughter to cope with your father’s sudden demise. I…I really wanted to hurry and get back to you here but, I wasn’t discharged from my duties.
That’s why, when I was preparing myself to get back…I…I suddenly heard the news of you getting engaged to Zordan and I was almost shocked to death! W-Why are you doing this, Gabriel? Be honest…are you purposely doing this to get revenge on me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Prince Marcus!” His nonsense assumption flared the surge of anger inside me as I grunted in a hefty voice, trying to unleash my hand from his grip. But he was holding my hand a little tight which made me feel more vexed. “Didn’t I mention just before that we aren’t close anymore to have such personal discussions? And…why the heck would I plan an act of revenge on you? It’s true that I can never forgive the pain that you have caused me but…I have already moved on from my past!”
“But I am unable to do so, Gabriel!”
All of a sudden, he desperately grumbled his words at me, creating a strong resonance amidst the walls of the hallway where we were standing. This time, his sentence sounded more like a plea to me, compared to the usual arrogant behavior I have faced before. Staring intensely into my wadded eyes, he continued, “Do you know why I accepted to train myself into a military knight by staying away from the castle? It’s…only because of you, Gabriel!”
“Huh?” I flinched at his unexpected answer, but he continued without waiting for my answer.
“When you called off the engagement and walked away from me, my pride was humiliated to death! I admit, I was terribly irked at you but you surprised me more when I learned that you had run away the next day to escape from each one of us.” The corner of his rolled eyes grew a bit narrow, as he put a sorrowful face before me.
Leaning his head down, he further explained, “That time, I realized how badly you were hurt and forced to take this drastic step…and it was a nerve-wracking realization for me! I…I wanted to become someone of whom you could be proud and approach you once again when the right time comes, all by leaving my past mistakes behind.
Perhaps you won’t believe it, but even though I was away from the castle, I was happy to hear that you finally came back here. I had almost prepared myself to come back as someone worthy of you but…then why?
Why are all these things happening now? Why are you getting engaged to Zordan now? Why?”
His wistful answer left me a bit conflicted as I gawked at him still. Before I could utter a thing, he clenched his grip tight on my hand which hurt my wrist a little. Moreover, I could see him getting all emotional as his eyes looked a bit teary. After a small pause, he mumbled, “Gabriel…I am sorry…I never said this to you before but…I…I really—”
.
“What are you doing to my fiancee?”
But all of a sudden, a dreadfully cold, familiar masculine voice flinched both of us hard, coming from behind of Marcus!
As I lifted my gaze aside, my hunch was immediately proven right! That person standing at a measurable distance from us was no one other than Zordan!
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